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Higher Education Compass

Creative writing & texts full time, bachelor of arts.

Bachelor Degree

7 semesters

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No information

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undergraduate

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Summer and Winter Semester

Area of study

Literary Writing

Digital media are changing the way we read, write and publish texts: We are flooded with information and stories and at the same time have ever new possibilities to publish texts and to reach many readers immediately. In the B.A. degree in Creative Writing and Texts you learn how to develop texts for a wide variety of formats and contexts. In addition to artistic-literary texts and books, you write blog posts, podcasts, TV series scripts, song lyrics, advertising messages, concepts and PR texts, among other things.

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Admission requirements

- Submission of a letter of motivation (300 - 500 words): show us your passion and motivation for writing! Why do you want to study Creative Writing and Texts? Where do you see yourself in the future? - Submission of one or more self-written artistic texts or excerpts (maximum of 1,500 words) - Submission of a non-fictional text (maximum of 1,500 words) - Submission of an uncommented reading list with 10 books and texts that were or are particularly important to you

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690.00 EUR / Month

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EU/EEA students (incl. Switzerland, the Western Balkans and Ukraine); Non-EU/EEA students pay per semester (EUR 4140/semester)

Languages of instruction

Main language.

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V. Kennedyallee 50 53175 Bonn

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A Guide to Literary Berlin

Tempted by The Reader Berlin ‘s  intensive writing workshops this summer? Berlin resident and literary advisor Nerys Hudson shares the city’s literary highlights, from walking tours and literature houses to festivals, bookshops and cafes.

Berlin occupies an odd space in the history of literary cities: less prestigious than London, less romantic than Paris, less visceral than Dublin, less frenetic than New York. Yet despite a decidedly underdog reputation, Berlin endures amongst writers, even if only for a brief moment in time.

Because it is the idea of a moment in time that makes Berlin special in literary terms. Berlin is a backdrop on which to paint a historical picture, observed as the world keeps spinning around you, but it will also force you to stop and look again. For this reason, Berlin is the ultimate of literary cities. It is a story that conspicuously evolves, and a story waiting to be explored. But where to begin?

Find the locations mentioned below on our map. Or view A Guide to Literary Berlin in a larger map.

Sightseeing Highlights

Works by Alfred Döblin, Sigmund Freud and Ernest Hemmingway were among over 25,000 books committed to the flames at Bebelplatz, on the night the German Student Association of Nazi Germany ransacked libraries and burned literature deemed “un-german”. Peer down Micha Ullman’s glass plate in the middle of the square’s cobbles, and you’ll see only empty bookshelves. Nearby, engraved on a separate plaque is a line from Heinrich Heine’s play Almansor – “Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen”: “Where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people.”  Bebelplatz, 10117 Berlin

Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof

Cemeteries are not top of everyone’s sightseeing list, and it may not be as sprawling or epic as the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, but the Doroteenstädtischen Friedhof is the resting place for some of Berlin’s greatest minds. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Heiner Muller, Heinrich Mann, Herbert Marcuse, Christa Wolf and Bertolt Brecht (whose old residence over looks the Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof) are among the many residents of the cemetery, located in the Mitte district.  Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Chausseestraße 126-127, 10115 Berlin.  Open: 8am until sunset

The Grimm Zentrum Library Although intended for use by the students at Humboldt University, the Grimm Zentrum library is open to the public, although you will have to check your bag in first. The library is –no surprises – named after the famous Grimm Brothers, who spent their final years in Berlin, labouring over a project that would go on to become Germany’s first official dictionary many years later.

At first glance, the Grimm Zentrum does look like some sort of knowledgeable prison thanks to a very angular and thoroughly modern façade. But whilst it may not evoke Prussian opulence, the library is not without it’s own charms. Once inside you’ll find around 2 million books bolstering the edges of the building. In the middle of the library is what looks like a futuristic nerve centre, a tiered, multi-platform reading area. The Grimm Zentrum collection pales in significance when compared to the Staatsbibliothek ’s 11 million strong titles – but you would definitely trade all those books to get a table in the centre here (and if you want that table, make sure you go early).  Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm Zentrum , Geschwister-Scholl-Strasse, 10117 Berlin.  Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8am-12am. Sat-Sun: 10am-6pm

Literary Events

German language events can be found in the many literature houses dotted about the city, appealing to audiences on a distinctly non-commercial level. Often run as a not-for-profit, they focus is less on selling books and more on hosting readings and discussion forums. Berlin now has five literature houses, including LiteraturWERKstatt , the suitably imposing Literatisches Colloquium Berlin , Brecht Haus , Lettretage and The Literaturhaus , which is famed for its café as much as its cultural programme. Note – German readings are known for their length – events at bookshops like Dussmann’s colossal Kulturkaufhaus on Friedrichstrasse are resplendent with marathon 45-minute author readings.

Then there are the festivals. Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin offers up plenty of big names across the world for numerous panel discussions and readings. Mainly based in the auditoriums of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, it’s hard to find a suitable competitor for the ILB programme. Past authors include Tahar Ben Jelloun, David Mitchell, Isabel Allende and DBC Pierre. Poetry fans have a similar, sprawling event in the PoesieFestival , held mainly at the Academy of the Arts and offering 10 days of some 200 poets. English language events are at both festivals.

For other English language events, alongside the likely suspect of the British Council, the American Academy in Berlin run a programme of events, incorporating their resident fellows. Past alumni of the annual programme include Jonathan Safran Foer, Karen Russell, Katherine Boo and Jeffrey Eugenides.

Bookshops & Journals

Inevitably though, the main champions of literary events in English are the bookshops and local journals. Notable mentions go to SAND Journal and No Mans Land who have been known to throw legendary launches and some thought provoking discussions, cementing their reputation as true supporters of fine writing and translation.

The journals work closely with Berlin’s numerous English-language bookshops, where there is plenty of shelf fodder alongside the readings. Dialogue Books recently closed it’s physical bookshop doors, but there is still an online bookshop, a diverse range of events in the plush surroundings of Soho House and their new office at The Wye , with Tom McCarthy, A.M. Homes, Ned Beauman and Clare Messud all previous guests in their regular Literary Lounge.

Relative newcomer Shakespeare and Sons has all the hallmarks of your new favourite bookshop. A café with homemade bagels; a beautiful stock selection with second hand and new books on the shelves and an open attitude to programming that encompasses books, music and more. No surprise then that the Prenzlauer Berg outpost of the original Prague bookshop has quickly endeared itself to the city.

Another Prenzlauer Berg resident is Saint George’s English Bookshop . A Berlin bookshop stalwart, Saint George’ s boasts an eclectic line-up of events and a huge range of second hand books, alongside an enviable selection of works from smaller, independent presses. Expect Melville House, Dalkey Archive and tons of other treasures. Their collection of English translations of German authors is also one of the best in the city.

Over in Kreuzberg, Another Country has been a mainstay of literary nomads for some seven years, with the often eccentric and chaotic stock reflecting the deeply passionate tastes of owner Sophia Raphaeline. Books are generally for loan rather than sale, tying into Another Country’s community ethos. If you come later on Fridays and make it downstairs to their cellar, Sophie will nourish you with home-cooked food in an informal group of book lovers and writers, all for a very reasonable price.

Other shops worth a visit include the legendary Marga Schoeller bookshop, a venerable 80-year old institution with a very decent English language section and Ocelot, Not Just Another Bookstore , which lives up to it’s name thanks to it’s enlightened booksellers and beautiful café. Magazine lovers will find their heart’s desire at Do You Read Me?!, and their side project The Reading Room is the place to go for most international magazine launches. Finally, for politics, art and design, Motto , Pro-Qm and Gestalten Space offer three very different but equally brilliant takes on publications that you couldn’t leave confined to the coffee table.

Writer Resources

Established and aspiring writers regularly flow in and out of the city, enabled by grants and stipends or emboldened by numerous proclamations of cheap rents (a promise that considerably blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction).

As a result, workshops and creative writing courses are in abundance in the city, even amongst English speakers. If you are staying longer, online forums and the excellent Literary List email will alert you to the main courses (sign up by emailing Fiona at fiona_mclellan [at] yahoo [dot] com).

Author services can be found via The Reader Berlin , with editing, mentoring and much more all covered. Weekly evening creative writing classes are always booked up and deservedly so, with tutors covering poetry, screenwriting, non-fiction and fiction. And if you are looking for an excuse to escape to Berlin, their summertime intensive workshops will do the trick.

You’ll also want to find yourself a cafe to work from or read at, and with the legendary Romanisches Café (a sort of Berlin equivalent of Café de Flore) now reincarnated at the newly opened Waldorf Astoria , you may have to settle for less salubrious surroundings. St Gaudy Café and Café Hilde will do the job very well, and boast strong literary links alongside the perquisite caffeine supplies.

And if you are staying a while, be sure to check up on the blogs – from the mighty triumverate of Readux , Transfiction and Love German Books for recommendations and news through to Slow Travel Berlin , Sugarhigh and Berlin Stories for NPR for a complementary bigger cultural picture.

A Berlin Reading List

Finally, no guide to the city would be complete without a list of books about it. The following are highly recommended Berlin reading.

Berlin Facts for the Bookish Current population : 3.4 million Selected Previous Residents : Erich Maria Remarque, Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin, The Brothers Grimm, Heinrich Heine, Christopher Isherwood, Erich Kaestner, Franz Kafka, Irmgard Keun, Heinrich Mann, Vladimir Nabakov, Joseph Roth, Kurt Tucholsky, Robert Walser, Billy Wilder. Selected Current Berliners: Priya Basil, Greg Baxter, Jenny Erpenbeck, Günter Grass, Ida Hattemer-Higgins, CJ Hopkins, Daniel Kehlmann, Herta Müller, Thomas Pletzinger, Judith Schalansky, Bernhard Schlink, Kathrin Schmidt, Ingo Schulze, Donna Stonecipher, Clare Wigfall, Anna Winger, Tod Wodicka.

The Reader Berlin are running a programme of intensive writing workshops in Berlin this summer – immerse yourself in the Travel Writing/Memoir workshop with Kimberly Bradley and Rory Maclean (July 1st-5th), Writing Outside the Box: Exploiting your Imagination to Create Fiction with Clare Wigfall and Tod Wodicka (July 15th-19th) and the Screenwriting Lab: 2013 with Donna Sharpe and CJ HopkinsAugust 12th-16th.  More details here.

About nerys hudson.

Nerys Hudson is a former bookseller turned literary advisor at Dialogue Books, a publishing and arts communication agency based in Berlin and online at www.dialoguebooks.org.

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2023: the year of translated fiction, i am woman. hear what i want for christmas, the booker prize: controversies, diversity, and the power of recognition, other people’s epiphanies.

This is a timely article for me to read! I am a poet as well as a freelance writer/editor, and I will be moving to Berlin in July. I had the chance to discover Do You Read Me? and SAND Journal a couple of years ago when I was on vacation in Berlin, but I look forward to the opportunity to visit many of the other places you mention here.

–Bernadette Geyer

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Online: Writing = Design: Creative Copy Writing Workshop

Learn about writing as a design tool. Get to know your creative potential in dealing with words, which often seems to be a field of insecurity for visual designers. Make words work for you! Create your own verbal personality and make your visual identity even more convincing.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this course will be facilitated online using a mixture of daily live-sessions and guided tasks to be completed.

A profound introduction to creative copywriting: Learn about writing as a design tool. Get to know your creative potential in dealing with words that often seem to be a field of insecurity for visual designers. No need to be afraid. I will provide you with techniques that will make it easy for you to get started. Fun little exercises, both orally and in writing, are my main method. Learn how to condense your thoughts with words. Learn to grasp your ideas and observations by describing them to an audience. Learn how to speak about yourself and the offer you make for professional markets. Make words work for you! The best thing: get instant feedback from the group you learn with plus professional assessment. I will support you in finding your verbal personality, thus adding to your visual identity and making it even more convincing.

Here are the elements of professional copywriting you will get to know: the functions of a headline, how to develop a name, a claim, text hierarchy, guiding your reader, target groups, short vs. longer texts, different verbal styles, tonality. Please feel free to bring your topics – we will try to include them in our schedule.

Day 1 / Monday Exploration

• Get to know each other: background, expectations, topics
• Get started: exercise 1 (description, self presentation)

Day 2 / Tuesday Essence

• Lecture by Sonja: what is text, why is it needed/useful
• Learn: exercise 2 (headline, text hierarchy, structure)

Day 3 / Wednesday Experience

• Lecture by Christoph: why and how do I write as a designer
• Learn: exercise 3 (style/tonality, short vs. longer texts)

Day 4 / Thursday Effects

• Present your work: who am I? (naming, claim, authorship)
• Get response and discuss: do I reach my target audience?

GUESTS Christoph Rauscher, art director at ZEIT ONLINE

Sonja Knecht was born in Indonesia, grew up in Venezuela, and is deep-rooted in Deutsch . She studied languages and humanities; explorations as a graphic artist led her to what she loves most: typography and text – text as language, designed. She was Edenspiekermann’s Director Text and established their corporate blog. Today, she supports companies and cultural institutions as a brand and communication strategist. Since 2016, Sonja is a lecturer at Berlin University of the Arts’ Institute of Transmedia Design in their Visual Communication program, plus a guest lecturer at other art and design schools and conferences. For TYPO International Design Talks she built up a 30-people editorial team and served as their moderator.

Christoph Rauscher is a designer who writes. After studying interface design (B.A.) and design and media theory (M.A.) in Berlin and Potsdam, he worked as a designer and design director at Edenspiekermann. There, he developed new ideas for digital journalism with publishing houses from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Until 2020, Christoph served as the art director of ZEIT ONLINE , one of Germany’s most prestigious news sites. He collaborates with companies, agencies, and publishing houses, using design and text as tools to make ideas more tangible. Also, he writes a monthly newsletter on personal observations and a quarterly column on technology in Germany’s renowned Form design magazine.

christophrauscher.de

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Creative Writing for the Stage

This study programme focuses on three areas: creative writing for the stage, dramatic practice and analytical dramaturgy. After two years of basic study and an intermediate examination students in the programme continue with a further two years of advanced study in which audio drama and screenplays are also covered. Graduates of the programme are awarded a university qualification equivalent to a Master´s degree. Workshops with acclaimed authors and directors as well as collaborative projects with other departments and professional theatres supplement the seminars. The programme aims to attract the greatest possible diversity and prospective students representing different cultures, generations and personalities. They are encouraged to apply. Applications are accepted every two years in the autumn and require the submission of a scene written by the candidate, two texts following specific guidelines and an analysis. In recent years eight students were accepted from an average of 170 submissions.

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• Home Programs Writing Programs Course: CREATIVE WRITING

Course: CREATIVE WRITING

NEW COURSE DATES: STARTING ON JAN 09, 2020 AND ENDING FEB 13, 2020 IN ENGLISH AND GERMAN

Writing is a bit like singing: you have to have your feet firmly on the ground, be grounded, know where the voice is and what you want to send out into the world..

What is my true voice when I write? What are the topics that really interest and touch me? Creative writing is a very interesting way to find out more about ourselves and the direction our writing might go. It is even more powerful, when we try it together in a group where everyone can feel guided and safe. 

The class will be held in the lovely atmosphere of the School of Voice – true to the spirit of the School and Kara Johnstad’s approach to art (and life). We will write together and share our written texts by reading them to each other. (But, of course, only when you’re ready!) My native language is German, it is the language in which I work and will teach this class. But I am also fluent in English and while participants should understand German, they are welcome to write in English. 

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

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Event location:    School Of Voice    Herbergerweg 14    14167 Berlin-Zehlendorf    Germany

Course dates and times:    6 dates, on Thursdays, from 7 pm to 9 pm

Starts: Thursday, 09 January 2020 Ends: Thursday, 13 February 2020

OUR HOLIDAY GIFT - REGISTER NOW AND SAVE €50

Course fee: *    199 Euro

    149 Euro if registered not later than 20 December 2019    Enter the Coupon-Code "50OFFWRITING"  during the checkout.

The minimum number of participants: The course takes place if a minimum number of 3 participants have registered.

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The Reader Insider – Top Places To Write In Berlin

Words by Dan Ayres

Whilst Berlin is undoubtedly a fantastic place to be a writer, there is one thing we can all agree on – distractions abound! From the constant lure of the city’s many lakes to the techno music pumping incessantly from your next door neighbours, it can be hard to find the right space to stay focused on your writing. Luckily, the city also has a whole host of great spots for you to hunker down with your pen, paper or laptop and finally bash out those priceless words!

But what makes for a great place to write? It can mean different things for different writers. Stephen King’s relentless fingers were spurred on by the anthems of AC/DC in his early days. Roald Dahl preferred a shed, a comfy armchair and an infinite supply of cigarettes. J.K. Rowling famously penned Potter in the cosy cafes of Edinburgh, whilst Cyril Connolly stipulated that the enemy of art was the pram in the hall!

To help you out, we Reader Berliners thought we’d share our favourite places for when working from home just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Sophie’s Cellar – Another Country

Kreuzberg’s Another Country bookshop is already a much loved treasure by the international writing community in Berlin, what with its abundance of English language books, regular reading nights such as Queer Stories (currently on hiatus) and the Friday night dinner parties that draw a lively crowd week after week. But did you know the basement is open and waiting for you to come and write during the week? This cool and quiet space surrounded by books is the perfect little island away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and it’s easier to lose track of time here than perhaps anywhere else in Berlin. Before you know it, you’ll have bashed out four chapters, at which point you can head upstairs for a beer and a chat with the enigmatic owner Sophie Raphaeline.

The Stabi – Potsdamer Platz

The Staatsbibliothek , affectionately known as ‘The Stabi’, is not only a great place to write, but a quintessential Berlin experience in itself. A favourite haunt of Reader founder Victoria, together with its sister site over at Unter Den Linden, The Stabi forms one of the biggest libraries in the whole of Europe. What makes the Potsdamer Platz location stand out, however, is the innovative modernist architecture. Part of the ‘Kulturforum’ collection of buildings built on the West side of the wall, The Stabi still retains something of a retro pre-Wende vibe, nowhere more so than in the canteen, where the grumpy mitarbeiters serve up classics like bulletten and piccolo bottles of rotkäppchen for when things get dire. Air-conditioning makes the Stabi highly popular in the summer months. To use the wifi you have to register, which may prove just the obstacle you need. We recommend getting a one year library card for 30 euros, which gives you access to the best workspaces and an extraordinary variety of books (mainly in German) for when you’re seeking inspiration/distraction.

The Berlin City Library

Less well known and certainly less snazzy than the Stabi, the Berlin City Library in Mitte is a great little secret for writers. You don’t have to be a member to work there, and there are plenty of tables and chairs to settle down and get into the writing groove. It’s a popular choice for the many students living in the city, and sharing a silent space with a whole room of academics furiously scribbling away can be great inspiration to write. Yes, the decor isn’t exactly chic, but there’s an affordable cafe (try the scrumptious Mohnschnecke!) and an open courtyard for when you have to beseech the gods to help you overcome writer’s block. It’s also conveniently centrally located within a stones throw of Museum Island and the Spree, so there’s plenty of history to absorb during writing breaks.

Bars & Cafes

If libraries and bookstores aren’t your cup of tea, try a cafe! Berlin is positively heaving with cafes and bars just waiting for you to come and pen your masterpiece.

For the Neuköllners amongst you, Muted Horn is a great space for writers, with craft beer on tap, cosy tables and armchairs in smoking and non-smoking areas and even a collection of board games if you feel like getting sociable after hitting your word count. Whilst it can get packed in the evenings, weekdays are fairly relaxed, and its distinctive ‘only in Berlin’ vibe is sure to unleash your inner prolific writer.

The Apotheken Bar in Kreuzberg is a former pharmacy turned cafe/bar (natürlich). Not only do they have delicious cafes and top notch coffee, but the polished dark wood, leftover apothecary paraphernalia and squishy furniture perfect for creating your own little writing nest makes it a winner, particularly in winter.

For all beer lovers with an anarchist streak, Cafe Morgenrot in Prenzlauer Berg is a delightful alternative to the spick and span cafes flooded with chatting out-of-towners that pervade the area. Not only does it tick all the right Berlin boxes (covered in graffiti, alternative art on the walls, excellent veggie food) it’s surprisingly quiet in the daylight hours, meaning you can scribble your diatribes of ‘taking down the system’ in this old anarchist favourite and then enjoy a crisp German beer on the terrace outside as a reward.

Sticking with the bar theme, those of you in Friedrichshain should head to Fitchers Vogel on Warschauer Straße. With its bare walls, candlelit tables and mismatched furniture, it’s a great place to hunker down and write over a dangerously cheap hausbier. Arrive early evening and take a seat towards the back, and enjoy the absence of distracting music before the crowds spill in from 8 or 9 onwards.

The district of Mitte has two bookstore/cafe combinations you’ll want to check out. Shakespeare & Sons on Warschauerstrasse has bookshelves on every wall and great bagels to keep you fuelled whilst you write. On the other end of the spectrum is the mighty Dussmann on Friedrichstrasse, which is a bookstore so vast you can literally get lost in it. A pleasant surprise is the subterranean cafe with a gigantic living rainforest waterfall wall, ideal inspiration for fantasy writers. Arrive before the lunch rush or mid afternoon to take advantage of the lulls.

Outdoor Spaces

If you prefer to scribble with the open sky above you, there are some nice places to take a pew on a picnic bench around the city. Search out Cafe Hasenschänke in Hasenheide park, the huge beer garden at Cafe am Neuen See in Tiergarten, or the endearingly retro Restaurant Schoenbrunn in Volkspark Friedrichshain for great writing spots surrounded by greenery. Or take a trip to the community gardens in Tempelhofer Feld, where you can grab a spati beer, take a seat amongst the flowerpots and gain inspiration from watching kite-surfers and rollerbladers at this enormous fascistic former airport. Only in Berlin!

So here’s a list of some of our places to get scribbling in Berlin. Do you have any of your own places you’d like to share? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter ! 

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